Join us in excitement as we release the winning brew from our Batch #1000 homebrew contest - Bryeian! Hard to believe that we've brewed 1,000+ batches of beer and for those who have been with us throughout the years, probably surprising to see that the winner is a hoppy ale! A cascadian, dark rye ale to be exact. Brian Pramov and Bryan Keas, a pair of homebrewers from Denver put together this winning recipe for us and it shined brightly in our competition. The roast of the dark malts, the spice of the rye and the intense hop character combine for a fantastic experience.

In my opinion, more of a Belgian IPA type of beer than anything else. True to the advice on the bottle, this is definitely one of the hoppier beers from the Bruery but excellent nonetheless.

It looks like something a cross between a black IPA and a double, with a good amount of head foaming on each pour into my snifter. The overall smell is that of hops with some sugary notes.Starts out like a nice Belgian before a strong hop presence overtakes the sip. I get some intense Belgian Dubbel tendencies before this careens back towards it's hoppy nature. I found this to be more a slow sipper than usual. Thought some of the black ale characteristics could be confused for extra body given the effervescent mouth feel.

Also would call a bitter Belgian. Enjoyable to drink but I don't think I need many of these.

One of the many bottles I lugged back from CA during my multiple work trips in August & September. At one point I looked in my hotel fridge & saw 12 beers. WTF? 750ML bottle split with my wife after the Replacements concert.

The pour is dark & with enough carbonation for a beer six times its size. Nose is a quick jab of pine melded to dark roast; no rye apparent. An odd, but appealing, opening nasal experience.

Bryeian is an odd piece of brewing. What jumps off the canvas is the mouthfeel, which is deliciously thick for a ‘black ale’, more like a higher ABV stout than, well, whatever the hell this ‘style’ of beer is about. The rye comes out nicely, with a shot of spice that builds as the beer warms, with minimal dirtiness. Sticky pine comes on strong, & the roast is subdued enough not to clash too brightly. Could drink mindlessly or mindfully.

A very good beer, especially after it warms up a bit. The addition of the rye causes it to avoid the usual unpleasant flavor clash of hop/roast of the style. Nice.